Yes, I want to know more.

Startups need money…

New Ventures Challenge 2018, the third annual business idea competition that awards up to eight startup business teams the opportunity for an average investment of $50,000 each in seed funding and months of business development and acceleration.

The investment from the New Ventures club enabled us to make a key technical hire that will elevate our business to the next level, we never could have done it without them!

Jonathan Woahn

Cofounder Ampogee

New Ventures 2016 Cohort

This is a unique opportunity to launch a funded startup.

Step one: Enter the business challenge.

New Ventures gave us the courage to pursue Leading Role as a startup, their accelerator framework, the preparation for Demo Day, and the follow-on advisors have been invaluable.

Hannah Ashford

Cofounder Leading Role

New Ventures 2016 Cohort

Their hard work and commitment to all of our success was remarkable. They provided many valuable insights, introduced us to their vast network, helped guide all of us through design thinking and identifying product market fit opportunities.

Edward Hall

CEO Petrics, Inc.

New Ventures 2016 Cohort

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Deadline for Applications

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April 6th 2018, 11:50 PM EDT

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1. Apply

Round One is online.

Submit an application.

Get the immediate attention of experienced startup experts.

Define your startup with focus and clarity.

2. Present

Round Two in NC.

Finalists pitch to the investor club in Winston.

Winners get cash and enter the accelerator.

Close your first round of funding.

3. Accelerate

Post accelerator you are:

Experienced in acceleration methods and ready for exponential growth.

Meeting active investors and preparing for your next round of funding.

Making funeral arrangements for burial services and cremations is confusing and stressful. Now grieving is reserved for the family and friends of the loved one departing – not because you paid the bill.

WineAmp,

Durham, NC.

Native mobile apps for wineries keep customers engaged, and coming back for more wine. We make CRM simple, and you communicate with your wine club members without hiring anyone.

Yanay,

Piedmont Triad.

You focus on customers, and we deliver actionable insight. Yanay is a service-first company helping small businesses and organizations manage their online presence and customer feedback.

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Funding, Cash and Prizes

Close your first round of funding and prepare for the next one.

The Challenge is made possible by Flywheel New Ventures 2018, LLC (Sponsor), which is a membership based organization of local entrepreneurs in the Triad Region of North Carolina.

All members are active investors who select the competition winners and make subsequent investments.

The funds raised by this organization are for the purpose of funding the New Ventures Challenge, the Flywheel New Ventures Accelerator, and for investing in selected startups.

All investment decisions are made by majority vote and rely heavily on milestone achievement by the selected teams during and after the accelerator session.

Selected from the pool of applicants, up to eight teams will be deemed winners and be accepted into the Flywheel New Ventures Accelerator and awarded the following cash prizes as the first tranche of an average $50,000 investment per team:

$35,000 first prize

$15,000 second prize

$10,000 third prize

$5,000 for up to five runner-ups

Additional investments will be based on milestone achievement as teams progress through the accelerator.

New Venture was the first acceleration program in the Triad to offer pre-seed money to startups. This was the one puzzle piece we needed to really fuel inception stage momentum in the Triad. New Ventures elevated the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Triad to the same playing field as Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham.

For the investors in New Ventures, participation is more than just the opportunity to get in early on companies that can scale.

Richard Starets, a New Ventures investor and founder of Small Footprint, one of the leading software development companies in Winston-Salem explains, “The camaraderie and diversity of the investor group and quality of the entrepreneurs was impressive. While it is hard work to sort through them all, we had both quality and quantity of selection, and there are some investment-worthy entrepreneurs and some great ideas right here close to home.”

A community of startup champions and aspiring innovators.

The Flywheel Foundation administers the Challenge on behalf of Flywheel New Ventures 2018 LLC. Flywheel LLC provides workspace for selected challenge teams during the finalist briefing and final pitch weekend, runs the accelerator, and organizes the resources and mentors for development of teams’ concepts and commercialization plans.

The Flywheel Foundation is a sister non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a healthy entrepreneurship ecosystem through education, research, events, innovation challenges and business accelerators.

Center for Design Innovation

Center for Design Innovation (CDI) is a 24K sq. ft. facility that opened in 2015. Created for learning and production in advance technologies from large-scale data visualization, motion capture and immersive experimental experiences. The facility includes a makerspace, and 3D Printing and Electronics Labs for rapid prototyping and product development.

Flywheel LLC is a 10,000 SF Coworking innovation space colocated in CDI. Flywheel provides a community workspace concept for startups, consultants and freelancers in the form of membership plans tailored to their needs, network resources, and programming focused on technology skills and business development.

Wake Forest Innovation Quarter

Flywheel is located in the heart of the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter that adjoins the Winston-Salem, NC central business district. It is one of the fastest growing urban-based innovation communities in the United States, with a master plan for as much as 6 million square feet of world-class office, laboratory and mixed-used space over its 145 developable acres.